One present invention relates to medical service support columns for use in hospitals and other medical facilities and particularly to a service support column arranged to promote communication between persons working on opposite sides of the column.
Sophisticated medical support equipment is increasingly required in medical facilities in the immediate vicinity of the patient. This is particularly true in such special care units as cardiac care, critical care, and intensive care units. Furthermore, in many medical procedures a number of specialists may be in attendance requiring access to the equipment while at the same time requiring both visual and oral communications with other specialists.
The need for devices which can support medical equipment and provide electrical outlets and medical gases in the proximity of a patient in hospitals has been long recognized. A number of prior art systems exist in the form of medical wall panels which contain electrical and gas outlets and support medical and electrical equipment. Such wall panels usually are permanently mounted on a wall, generally at the head of the patient's bed, and are often difficult to reach, especially when a number of specialists are engaged in a procedure at the same time. Other medical equipment supports comprise columns which support equipment on fixed closely spaced shelving or in enclosed compartments, thereby obscuring a line of vision between persons working on opposite sides of the column. Other support columns place equipment at a relatively low level below the normal line of vision, where it is difficult to observe monitoring screens. One particular medical support column is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,475,322 having a see-through section with a lower portion of the column supporting electrical equipment and an upper portion supported by a post. The upper portion is anchored to the ceiling and provides connection for electrical and gas supply lines extending through the vertical post. One distinct disadvantage of this prior art see-through arrangement is that medical equipment needed during a procedure is housed below the normal line of vision and is therefore difficult to read and to adjust.